I'm the Hero!
by TheLittlestAuthor
Summary: America comes down with the flu, leaving an empty space at the World Meeting. Canada decides that, with a little change in his appearance, he'd be the perfect one to take America's place, until he realizes all the problems his brother has to deal with..
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I hope you guys enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. I'd be honored if you'd read a review when you're done, be it to tell me whether or not you liked it or to give me tips/ideas... Anyways, I just wanted to look at the character Canada a little bit more, since he seems so annoyed at being left behind... It's rated T for possibility of language, and there is a little bit (VERY LITTLE) of USUK in later chapters... So, you've been warned!**

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_"Dude! Is your country always like this in the winter? All cold and stuff?" Alfred grinned, his jeans sopping wet from the snow he was trudging through alongside his brother. A polar bear walked behind them quietly. White flakes swirl and float to the ground slowly._

_"Yes, in most places," Canada nodded. He looked up and noticed his older sibling wasn't wearing a coat, just a white shirt. "America, you should really put a jacket on, it's cold out here-"_

_"Nah, it's okay, bro!" America said, cutting him off. "I don't need a coat, I'm way to badass for that. Besides, you don't need a coat, so why would I?"_

_"Because I'm used to the cold weather up here-" the Canadian started, only to be cut off yet again by his brother._

_"Whatever, dude. It's too late for me to get a coat now, you should've reminded me before we left."_

_"You're going to catch a cold, Alfred-" Matthew replied, but to no avail. Even in the silence of the snow-covered field, the only sound that could be heard was the sound of America talking._

_"A cold? Bro, there's no way I'm gonna get a cold."_

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"You should've put on the jacket when I told you to, America," Canada murmured, waving a medical thermometer in America's direction so that he could see the numbers it had come up with. The man was burning up.

"What are you, my mother?" Alfred groaned, rolling his eyes. "Besides, you told me it wasn't a cold, it was the flu."

"That's worse!" Canada retorted.

"But, it does mean I was right, bro," the older brother grinned. Shortly afterwards, he curled into a ball and began to whine like a little kid, "Ahhh, my stomach hurts... dude, it feels like it's going to explode..."

Matthew sighed and turned away, mumbling, "I'll go get you a pill."

The younger blonde knew he should have tried harder to get his sibling to wear a coat yesterday, but it probably would have just been a pointless argument that still would have ended up in the southern nation overpowering his northern neighbor. Earlier that morning, America had called Canada. The older country wanted his 'little bro' to come over and 'take care of him'. Matthew hadn't necessarily been quick to say yes. He loved his brother, sure, but the two just didn't get along- mostly because America never let Canada do any talking. In the end, the Canadian gave in and promised to keep his brother company. The other countries had yet to be informed of their American friend's illness, but Canada hoped to take care of that later today at the World Meeting.

Matthew pulled a box of tablets from his brother's medicine cabinet, and began to read the label as he walked back towards his sibling's room. It wasn't long before he drifted back into his thoughts.

Telling everybody at the World Meeting wasn't a good idea after all, once the blonde thought it through. He was never noticed; not even in the slightest. His life was pretty much all staying in America's shadow. He had been hoping (guiltily so) that Alfred's absence might result in him becoming a more important part of the group of countries, but that in itself was unlikely. Nobody noticed him, and that was that. Being the ghost of the world was just his thing, the whole reason he existed, in his own opinion.

"America, take two of these and you should feel better," Matthew said, handing his brother two pink tablets of medicine.

"Thanks, Canadia." Alfred grinned, shoving the pills in his mouth. Canada shrugged and decided not to even try to correct the mispronunciation of his name. With a glance down at his watch, the man realized he needed to go to the World Meeting. America glanced at his own clock and came to the same realization.

"Just tell everybody why I'm not there, okay? They're going to miss me!" Alfred smiled.

"Okay, I'll try," Matthew nodded, leaving the room. He walked down the hallway and sighed, knowing nobody was going to realize he was even at the meeting.

Then, out of nowhere, the strangest idea hit the Canadian.

"Everyone always mistakes me for America," he mused aloud, though quiet enough that his brother couldn't hear. "And it's not like they'd notice me being gone if America were there... so, maybe, just for today... I could be Alfred."

Just for one day, he could act and dress like his older brother, and be noticed by everyone for once. What could go wrong? He turned to the mirror beside him, ruffling his hair around a bit. It was a noticeably different shade of blond then that of his brother, but he could blame that on the light or hair dye or something. The problem was its length. The Canadians hair was too long to be like the American's...

Within minutes the man was in the bathroom with scissors in his hands. He took hold of the first strand he intended to cut, a stray, curly hair that wound its way in front of his face.

"France is going to kill me if he ever finds out I'm doing this..." Matthew groaned, closing the sharp scissor blades with a quiet snap. The curly hair dropped to the floor. He quickly continued with the rest. Heck, he was already running late.

The glasses weren't a problem. Anyone would overlook a Canada's somewhat circular rims compared to America's square ones. But eye color... that was going to be an issue.

"Contacts," he thought. "I'll just get some blue contacts at the store on my way to the meeting. Yes, that's perfect. And a white shirt, like America always wears, I've already got that on..." Canada raised a hand to his face.

"Ah, Maple! I forgot about that stupid bomber jacket America's always got on... maple, maple, maple! He's wearing that right now! Where am I supposed to get another one?"

This was a stupid idea, Canada knew it. He didn't have any idea why he was so determined to disguise himself as someone he had been trying so hard to break away from. He smiled; it was kind of ironic to say the least. In the end, the man knew that the only reason he was doing this was because he was sick of being unimportant, and that was that. If becoming his brother was the only way to stand out, than so be it.

By now, Matthew knew he was going to be really late. He'd have to worry about the jacket some other time, should he ever decide to do this again. He did need a coat of some sort, though. He may be practically immune to cold, but being around a sick person all day made him worry whether or not going around outside in the could without a jacket was a good idea. He had been in a rush to come to America's house this morning, so he hadn't taken his sweatshirt with him.

"I could borrow one of Americas," Canada smiled. "It'll complete the look, and I'm sure he won't mind."

With that, the man opened up the door to the hall closet. With an annoyed sigh, he became aware of its contents.

At least thirty other bomber jackets, ready for America whenever he needed to get rid of his current one.

"Great, I guess that's just what I was looking for," the Canadian nodded, putting one on with a flourish. In an attempt to look like his brother, the blonde spun around and winked at himself in the mirror, giving himself a thumbs-up.

"I'm the hero!" he said loudly, in his most confidant voice possible. The act was going to need some work, but so far so good. With a nod of approval at what he considered a flawless costume, the Canadian turned around and walked out the door.

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**A/N: How was that? I realize it was probably really OOC, but, oh well. I hope you all liked this first chapter, sorry it's so short. If you guys like it, I'd be happy to write more!**

**Kumajirou: He didn't even notice me... just walked away and left me with America...**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks everybody! I was so happy with all the feedback from the last chapter. I hope you all enjoy this one, as well! This week, I'm out on a break from school for a holiday, so hopefully I'll be able to update more often. Thanks!**

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Matthew shuffled into the building where the meeting was to be held, clutching his eye. The contacts he had just purchased were definitely uncomfortable, not to mention annoying when they slid around in his eye. The Canadian knew he looked almost identical to his brother, he just hoped he could pull off the act.

"All I have to do is say 'dude' and 'awesome' every five minutes and I should be fine," Canada said to himself, laying a nervous hand on the doorknob, readying himself to enter the World Meeting. "Ah, maple, here goes nothing..."

With a deep breath, the Canadian pulled the heavy wooden door open. The other countries turned to him, as if they'd been waiting for a long time. Canada blushed a deep pink, not used to having everyone turn their full attention to him.

"America, you git," Arthur sighed from across the table. "We were all waiting for you. You said you had something important you wanted to show us, and then you meet us all here twenty minutes late?" Canada nodded.

"S-Sorry," he murmured apprehensively, taking America's place at the table.

"What?" France laughed. "Did you just tell your frère 'sorry'? Don't waste words like that on an idiot like him-"

"Hey! It's taken me long enough to get him to show some respect, don't ruin it, you bloody wanker!"

The two began to fight. Canada pulled his hand to his head, angry at himself. He could dress the part, but he sure couldn't act it.

_Just be loud. Make up an idiotic way to solve a problem, just like America would do. Everything you say is right, because you're the hero, _Matthew thought.

"Hey, everyone! Cut the chatter and listen up! I've solved the crisis of overpopulation!" he yelled, standing up and pointing in a random direction. He thought desperately for an idea that sounded even remotely like his brother's. "We glue condoms to children when they're young, and don't take them off until they reach the age of 21! That should reduce adolescent pregnancies a billion percent!" Yep, that sounded like America.

"What?" Germany said, breaking the silence after a long moment. "Is that _really _an appropriate topic to bring up in a World meeting?"

"Fine! If you want the world to overpopulate and spill people off its edges, fine by me!" Canada replied, throwing his hands up in mock defeat. He was really enjoying this whole being 'important' thing. He may have to act like America during this whole ordeal, but it was better than being lonely.''

"I for one agree with America-san." Japan nodded solemnly.

"You what?" Britain cried out, standing up and turning towards the Japanese man with a glare.

Matthew was grinning from ear to ear. He was having way to much fun with this. The man was shocked at just how much of an impact he was having at these meetings as America. He just wished this happened when he was being himself as well. He had thought up a bunch of good ideas over the years, but they had never been noticed. Suddenly, this thought gave the Canadian a great idea.

Maybe he didn't have to give out purely idiotic ideas like his brother did. It wouldn't be a bad thing if the ideas were a little bit... better, would it? Maybe if Canada used his own ideas to solve the world's problems... he could be twice the hero America ever was!

"Then you'll all notice me!" the Canadian cried out triumphantly. He then realized that the fighting between all the other countries had ceased and all eyes were on him.

"You've got our full attention, America," Russia said, his words slightly muffled by the scarf around his neck.

"So, you can sit down now, aru," China nodded.

"No, I've got an idea!" Matthew grinned. He felt his confidence swell, and this time he wasn't acting. "Okay. There are loads of problems the world has to deal with, right? Give me a problem that we can begin trying to solve...dudes!" The man looked around the room, hoping he hadn't sounded too out-of-character. "Anybody?"

"World hunger!" Italy piped up. Germany sighed. He'd expected this response from his ally.

"Right, okay. Um... You see, there are more than a billion people in the world who suffer from world hunger. I doubt one meeting will end it, but if we all put our heads together I'm sure we'll think of something. So, maybe, instead of just fighting about one idea like we normally do, what if we just give some ideas and discuss them later. Nobody is allowed to give their opinion on the solution until we go through the list later. Okay?"

The other countries looked towards Matthew with confused eyes. Germany actually had a hint of approval on his face, and Japan was almost smiling.

"Stop wasting food, da?" Russia piped up after a moment.

"And help other countries, aru," China said.

"Ja, my country has a few organizations I could promote," Germany agreed, tapping his pen on the table.

"If I absolutely _have _to,I've got some tomatoes I could donate," Romano began, before quickly finishing with, "you damn burger-eating bastard."

"_Oui, _and I've got baguette bread that my people don't eat all of," France smiled.

Britain, refusing to be one-upped by France, offered to cook for the hungry. This drove the rest of the countries over the edge, all of them desperately giving out ideas so that starving people of the world wouldn't have to endure the hell of British food.

Canada scribbled down the suggestions violently. Half of the ideas were absolutely no good, but there was so much more involvement in the meeting this time, rather than most times that involved America giving his idea and then everyone fighting over it for an hour.

"Maybe I'm not so bad at this... it's not as hard as I thought," Canada smiled. He felt strangely sure of himself. Little did he know, America's life wasn't just World Meetings and stupidity.

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**A/N: If you liked that chapter, please leave a review! I'm sorry they're so short, but I'm planning to write a longer one soon. I think Canada could make a good 'hero', if he really put his mind to it. **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I am HONORED by all the positive feedback I've recieved. I'm so glad you guys like this, I was worried it was just a bad idea. Thank you everyone who reviewed this, you guys are amazing! Some of you have made some good predictions, if I do say so myself! Everyone who favorites and alerts is awesome as well! Now, on with our story... the tale of a hero...**

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Canada looked towards the sky with a smile plastered onto his face, one that he assumed would be hard to scrape off. He had just been recognized by every nation, and they all actually... seemed to like him.

"They just like America," Matthew whispered to himself. "Remember that. If you start thinking it's you they like, there's a problem." However, the Canadian couldn't help but feel confidant. He _was_ the hero, after all. Upon thinking this, he laughed and said, "I'm a lot more like my brother than I thought... speaking of which, I should be getting back to him."

The blonde pulled his coat closer around him. Maybe not _everybody_ liked America. He shrugged that idea off and instead began his way home. The weather was pleasant, not too hot, not too cold. In his opinion, today had been the perfect day.

Canada continued down the block, whistling a tune under his breath. He turned the corner with a spring in his step. He could never have known stealing his brother's identity would feel this good! No, not stealing... borrowing. Yes, he was _borrowing _his brother's identity, like Sealand had borrowed his own, once. Suddenly, a familiar voice pulled him from his thoughts. Just a few meters before him, he could see his friend, Cuba.

"Hey! Cuba!" he called, waving his hand in the air. His voice was still noticably louder than usual; he had gotten used to America's loud way of talking throughout the whole World Meeting ordeal. Cuba turned towards Matthew. The Cuban's look of confusion turned to a look of disgust, then anger. His blonde friend lowered his hand, his face sporting a puzzled look, then he looked down.

He still looked like America.

"Maple!" the Canadian squeked, turning on his heal and dashing down the street. He skidded around a corner, his heart thumpiing violently.

"Get back here, America!" Cuba yelled, his utter hatred for Canada's older brother obvious.

Matthew dashed down the street. He looked over his shoulder to see the Cuban hot on his trail. The Canadian tripped a little, but continued at the same speed.

"Maple, hockey, maple, hockey, maple, hockey, maple, hockey!" Canada gasped under his breath. He could just turn around now and tell his friend what was going on, but something told him things wouldn't go down well. _Oh yah, hi Cuba, _he imagined himself saying, _I'm dressing up as my brother because he's really cool. You like? _Yup. That definitely wouldn't be the way to do things.

In his haste, Matthew hadn't realized he was heading directly for America's house, where he had left his sweatshirt this morning. He sighed in relief before speeding off in that direction, Cuba still close behind. The Canadian raced down the street and stumbled up his brother's driveway, twisting the doorknob and pulling the door open in one motion. He then proceeded to tear off America's jacket and throw it in the bathroom, grabbing his green jacket and shoving it on. He ran a hand through his hair, trying to rid himself of that just-got-chased-around-the-city-by-a-Cuban look. He peeked out the window, and, sure enough, there was his friend, panting and resting his hands on his knees, looking up and down the street

_Might as well help him,_ Canada thought.

"Cuba? Are you okay?" Matthew called, stepping out onto the porch, remembering to keep his voice at its usual volume (which was so much nicer on his vocal chords!).

"I found you!" the Cuban howeled, tackling Canada.

"N-No! I'm Canada! Canada!" the blonde retorted, struggling to get up.

"Oh," Cuba said, quickly standing up upon realizing his mistake. "Where's your stupid brother? This is his house, right? I almost caught him!"

"Oh, Alfred? He came home a loooong time ago, so, hypothetically, had you been chasing someone down the street, hypothetically, it wouldn't be him because he's inside- I mean- somewhere but not here. So don't go inside and beat him up-I mean- look for him." The Canadian stuttered, out of breath and extremely out of it because of his busy day. Cuba nodded and waved goodbye, saying the two should hang out more often.

"Right," Canada nodded, heading back inside.

"Mattie! If you're home, d'ya think you could bring me another waste basket? I kinda puked in the other one a lot..." America called from his bedroom, followed by the sound of the hero vomiting. "And a mop…"

"Well," the Canadian sighed, beginning his search for the mop, "I may have gotten chased and attacked by my best friend, but that can't stop me from being the hero for once… I'm still up for the job, I mean, what's the worst that could happen? "

Famous last words.

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**A/N: Hey, everybody… sorry for the long wait for this update. I was planning to do chapters over the break I had recently, but that didn't really work out… anyways, I hope to update again soon! Thank you guys, and please R+R! (Whatever that means… Romano and… Rome (Grandpa Rome)? Ah, well. Sorry this chapter was SO SHORT, I didn't want to make it longer or there might have been too much detail... I'm awful at writing action scenes... maybe I'll do an action story next... now I'm rambling... SEE YOU NEXT TIME, FRIENDS! **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Before I start, I need to thank ALL of my reviewers/alert-ers/favorite-ers. YOU GUYS ROCK. SO, Shoutout to all of you! Ready? (be prepared... this could take a while... Sorry for any misspellings... It's a lot... and it's 11:00 at night... I should be doing HW... oops...).**

**Suzie the Purple Dragon BlueIsMyFavoriteNumber Nyapoop14 ninjakat405 The Almighty Pyro Jamie soulshifter98**

**UsuiXMisakilover mIsS-vIcToRy96 mofalle AwesomeXS AJR Lady Ri of Cherith Luna Espejo **

**YOU GUYS ARE MY HEROES. YOU MAKE MY DAY, SERIOUSLY. **

**And, this chapter is dedicated to Ace Author** (who gave me a few ideas) **and Suzie the Purple Dragon **(who I wrote a GerIta fanfic a while ago, called 'Betrayal'. It's kinda wierd, but check it out!) **Anyways, thank you guys for everything, you make my day so much BETTER. **

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Canada pushed his way into America's room, a mop and garbage can in hand. He squeezed his eyes shut and quickly cleaned up his brothers "mess", before hurrying away and cleaning the mop. He came back into the room with a pill in his hand and a glass of water.

"Here, America. This should settle your stomach," he offered. The older man popped the pill in his mouth and drank a swig of water, before spitting it out with a surprised look at his brother.

"Woah, dude! You cut your hair!" he exclaimed, pointing at his brother's face with a smile.

"I- uh, that was because, uh-" Canada stuttered, desperately searching for an excuse other than 'I spent the entire World Meeting as you'. He had completely forgotten about his hair's new length, let alone his sky-blue contact lenses. If it hadn't been for Cuba, he probably would never had taken off his brother's brown bomber jacket.

"Nah, it's okay," Alfred grinned. "You just wanna look cool like your big bro, huh?"

"Yah... yah, that's something like it, I guess."

"Man, you even got contacts! It's like I'm staring at a less-handsome version of myself! Like... kinda like a cracked mirror!"

"Y-yah..." Matthew nodded. Might as well agree with the American instead of trying to make up a whole new story.

"You know, I was wondering, why hasn't anyone called me to say 'get well soon'? I did that for Britain when he was sick... I've done it to pretty much everyone!"

"Maybe they're just... busy?" the Canadian offered, standing up and taking the empty glass from the southern nation. "They, uh... they told me to tell you to get well, but they said they were really busy..."

The Canadian worked his way towards the door. He was awful at lying. He always stuttered, mumbled, and overall probably sounded like a teenage girl. How America believed it, he didn't know. Then again, America had always believed what he wanted to hear...

Alfred rolled over in an attempt to fall back asleep. Matthew stepped down the stairs and tripped head-first over something white and furry.

"K-Kumajirou!" he yelled as he fell down. The polar bear gave a grunt and turned around.

"Feed me," Kumajirou stated flatly. "You've been gone all day. Feed me."

"Oh, uh... sorry," Matthew nodded, heading for the kitchen. "Right, no problem. Sorry, I was just busy."

"You always take me to those meetings," the talking bear whined. "Why not this time?"

"Because... today was 'Don't Bring Your Polar Bear to Work' day," Canada sighed, holding his head. He had a headache, now. His mind was spilling over... it was absolutely full of everything that had happened in the past twelve hours.

The man fed his pet and walked towards the guest room, where he was staying while taking care of his older brother. Before entering the room, however, he picked up the bomber jacket he had left in the hallway and placed it on the small table beside his bed. A cellphone fell out, falling with a thunk onto the nightstand. It was America's. Rolling his eyes, Matthew fell onto the bed. The Canadian fell asleep quickly, exhausted from the long day.

_Bzzt. Bzzt. Bzzt. Bzzt._

Matthew grumbled as he pulled himself out of bed, reaching for the vibrating cellphone on the nightstand. He slammed his hand down on the desk a couple of times, missing the phone entirely, before he finally found it, flicking it open and pulling it to his ear.

"Nnngh?" He groaned into the phone. He wasn't a morning person.

"Oh... Hello, America," England's voice murmured into the phone.

"Oh hey En- Britain," Canada said, sitting up. He had to remember to keep up his America act.

"Th-There's a world meeting today," the blonde stuttered on the other end. He sounded nervous.

"Huh? What? Where?"

"Same place. Just... meet m- I mean- us there. In 45 minutes. Okay?"

"Okay. Why do you sound so worried?" Matthew said, standing up and reaching for his brother's jacket.

"Just meet me there, okay?" Arthur replied angrily, ending the call.

The Canadian stared at the phone quizzically for a moment before shrugging and getting ready. After A moment, the man leaned over and began to make a list to ensure he was wearing everything he needed.

"Shirt, check. Jacket, check. Socks, check. Pants... right. Need to get a pair of those... those are vital."

"MATTIE!" Alfred called from his room, "CAN YOU GET ME ONE OF THOSE PILLS THAT MAKE HEADACHES GO AWAY?"

"Be right there," Canada called back, jumping up and down to try to get his brother's pants on. Actually, getting in to them wasn't the problem. The real issue was trying not to fall out. Quickly completing this task with a belt, Matthew grabbed two pills for his brother, and a glass of water.

"And you're even wearing my clothes. You really are desperate to be a hero, aren't you?" America grinned. "Try your best, you'll never be as cool as me."

"Right, thanks for the brotherly support. I have another meeting today, so I've got to go," Canada returned, heading down the stairs and out the door.

"Hey, you're even becoming a totally awesome maker of comebacks! Did you hear yourself? Badass!" Al called after his brother.

"Oh, no... I'm turning into my brother..." the younger groaned, heading towards the meeting hall.

~xXx~

The Canadian entered the room where the World Meetings took place, closing the door behind him. Strangely, the room was empty, though he was late. He looked around. No papers, pens... No signs that anyone had been in here since yesterday. The blonde looked around, puzzled.

"America."

Britain stepped out from behind the northern nation, his face pink.

"Oh. Britain. You scared me, dude," Canada grinned, using his loud 'I-am-the-Hero' voice. "Where is everyone? I thought there was a m-"

"I lied. I just wanted to meet with you," England said. "You know, yesterday... You were pretty bloody heroic. I think you've finally become a real man, you know?"

"Erm... thanks."

"You've definitely become a better person, and to be honest, I fancy you."

"You.. you what?" Matthew stuttered, taken aback. Did Arthur really just say that.

"It means I like you. A lot. Idiot." the Brit continued, his face still a shade of pink that Canada hadn't seen before. He was nervous. And in love with Alfred. He began to lean forward, as if expecting a kiss or something.

"WOAH, WOAH, WOAH." the Canadian yelled, stepping back until he was against the wall. "WOAH. Just.. uh... no. Just.. no."

England looked back at Matthew with his green eyes. They looked so upset. The Englishman nodded and headed for the door sadly, his head towards the ground.

"Look, Britain, I mean..." Canada stated, leaning down with an 'aw, maple,' that England couldn't hear. "I mean, you kinda... caught me off gaurd, so, maybe not now. Ask me in... um... in a week. Or... date France, there's always that option. Um. You know what, I'm just making it worse. Like kicking a lion while it's down. You're like the lion, and I'm violently kicking you in the gut, ya know? Right, shut up. You know what? I think I'm just gonna go..."

Holding his head nervously as he walked home, leaving Britain alone in the meeting hall, Canada was actually _giggling. _He couldn't help but imagine his brother's reaction to such a situation. He'd probably lose his head. Then again, Britain did look upset.

"I CAN'T DEAL WITH THIS; I'M LOSING MY MIND." Matthew yelled to the sky, clutching his hair and pulling it.

"America, shut the hell up, mien Gott!" Germany called from a hotel window, noticing his fellow nation having a mental breakdown on the street.

Canada nodded, and took a deep breath. He had to keep this up. If he didn't, how else would everybody realize he actually had some pretty good ideas? Right, next World Meeting he was going to need to be strong and push through. He needed to forget about Britain and Cuba and all those weird social interactions he was going to face being America, and focus on telling everybody about his plans for a better world future. Right. Focus, focus, focus... that's the key to success. If Canada could just keep himself focused...

"Awe, who am I kidding?" Matthew groaned. "I'm done for!"

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**A/N: Sorry, that was kind of a random chapter to say the least. I kinda wanted to put it in, but didn't know where, so decided I would just shove it in there at some point, so, VOI-LA. SHOVING SUCCESS. So, according to UsuiXMisakilover, R and R means Read and Review. So, I COMMAND YOU ALL TO REVIEW (Please)! The buttons right there. Takes just a second... I love feedback. Right there. ! THANK YOU ALL!****  
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	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Sorry, it's been a little while since my last update. I think this story is drawing in to its end, though... Anyways, if you like this chapter/ story, please alert/favorite/review! **

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It was late when the Canadian finally made it home. He had decided that he needed to take a walk before he returned to America's house, as he felt that if he didn't he would probably act weird. The blonde entered his brother's house, closing the door quietly behind him. The house was dark, and Canada could hear his brother snoring. Matthew placed his brown bomber jacket onto a desk and continued to his room. He saw Kumajirou curled up on his bed, ears wiggling. The polar bear was sound asleep.

"Ah, I forgot to feed you again didn't I?" Canada thought aloud to the tired bear. "I'll get some food, you can eat it when you wake up."

With that, the Canadian turned around and headed back in to the dark and silent kitchen. He considered turning the lights on, but decided against it. He wasn't going to be in there long, anyways. When he came here, Canada had made sure to keep his bear's food (along with some _real _maple syrup) under the sink. Reaching for a food bowl, he filled it up with the creature's dinner. Matthew then stood up and turned around.

Standing there was a little man, with an oval head and big, black eyes.

"ARGH!" Canada gasped, dropping the bowl. His bear's food clattered to the ground, the bowl rolling away. "Tony!"

The little alien tilted his head, coming closer to his friend's brother.

"You look different," the alien said in his usual high-pitched voice. He recognized Canada immediately. He was one of the few people... or, things... who could.

"I cut my hair," Canada shrugged, leaning down to clean up the mess. His heart was still pounding.

"Uh-huh," Tony replied. "America isn't very smart. He hasn't caught on yet. I know what you're doing."

"W-What? What do you mean by that?"

"You're walking around in his clothes, wearing colored contacts, cutting your hair, and not taking that polar bear with you wherever you go. I don't think you could make it any more obvious. You're pretending to be him, aren't you? You can deny it, if you want. I've figured it out, I can go tell him."

"No!" the blonde gasped. "Don't do that. Yeah, that's what I'm doing; just don't tell him okay? Being him has a few downs, but everyone talks to me.. or, him... Just keep it a secret, please!"

"Wow, you sound desperate," the gray creature muttered, jumping on to the counter. "I'm not going to tell. Besides, you probably make a better hero than him anyways. At least you have the ability to stay calm sometimes, and _you _don't sound like an idiot when you sing in the shower."

"Thank you- wait, what? How would you know that?"

"It doesn't matter. Should America ever develop the IQ to realize what you're doing, I'll try and cover for you; because I think it's funny. And... I think you deserve a chance to shine, you know."

"Thanks, Tony," Canada nodded, relieved. After cleaning up the spilled food and getting a new bowl for his bear, Matthew made his way back to his bedroom.

"Oh, yeah. Canada?" Tony called out to the blonde, "I just wanted to let you know that America scheduled target practice at the shooting range tomorrow. So... you'd better learn to shoot pretty fast."

Canada groaned. He'd never been any good at fighting. He couldn't remember having held a gun since at least World War 2.

"Thanks for the heads-up..."

~xXx~

America's car thumped down the dirt road. Canada had found his brother's keys on a hook near the door, and decided that it would look a lot more realistic if the American drove up in his own car rather than Canada's.

The Canadian was starting to feel bad about acting like America. Maybe he should just stop. Normally he would, but he was just so tired of going unnoticed. As tiring as they were, these last three days had been amazing. Absolutely everyone had been aware of his existence, just because he changed his appearance a bit. He wasn't accustomed to lying, but Matthew had just become so hooked on people asking his opinion, waiting for him to speak, realizing he was there, and all the other good stuff that came with being Alfred. He couldn't just give himself up, not just yet. However, the Canadian wasn't sure how much longer he could keep up his act. I mean, he was currently on his way to a gun range, a place he'd never been before.

Canada parked his brother's car outside of the training building. He made sure to lock the expensive car, as he was sure America would be livid if anything happened to it.

"Hey, Alfred! how are you today?" A man at the far end of the room called out as soon as Matthew entered the building. "I have you scheduled for using the indoor pistol shooting range, is that right?"

"Yeah, totally," Canada nodded, trying to smile through his nervousness. Obviously it hadn't worked, because the supervisor caught on immediately.

"Are you okay, Alfred? You look worried. You've done this at least a hundred times. Just keep calm and you'll be fine."

The Canadian nodded again, following the man into a room where he received a pair of earmuffs and a small black pistol. The supervisor then lead him into another room where a large piece of paper with the picture of a human torso was hanging. In the center of the black portrait, there were several circles getting smaller and smaller, leading to one in the center. That was the one Canada needed to hit.

"Whenever you're ready, I'll start up the machine," the director said. Matthew took aim and called out that he was ready to go. Then, with a mechanic grinding noise, the picture began to move around.

"It's moving," the blonde laughed, "Of course it's moving. And here I was, worried about shooting it while it's still. And now it's moving. Great!"

The Canadian must have been a little too exited, because his finger twitched just enough to press the trigger and send a bullet flying through the air. He saw the paper man wobble as if hit by something as it continued moving.

"Yes!" Mattie smiled, pumping his fist in the air. He didn't know where, but he was sure he had hit the target. Taking aim again, the Canadian fired three more rounds at the target. This time he wasn't so sure what had happened. After firing the last of his bullets, Matthew called out to the shooting range supervisor. The man nodded and pulled in the target for Canada to look at.

All of his bullets had created holes that were off center by just a little bit. Mattie felt happy for himself, but at the same time upset. He knew that America had probably done way better then him, hitting the center every time as he bragged he could.

"Wow, nice job," the instructor grinned. "You must be feeling pretty good today!"

"What do you mean by that?" Canada asked. "I thought this was worse than usual."

"No, not at all. In fact, I'd say this is the best you've ever done!"

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**A/N: Did you enjoy that chapter? I hope so. Please review or favorite/alert! THANK YOU YOU GUYS ARE WONDERFUL! **


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Okay, so I made a mistake in the last chapter, which mofalle pointed out to me. I said that America had been sick for four weeks (I was tired and for some reason decided that America needed to have been sick that long), but I fixed it if you go back and look. He's actually only been sick for about three days. So, thanks mofalle for pointing that out, and let's continue with the story!**

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Canada couldn't have been more proud of himself. He thought he would be a little rusty from the years that had passed since he fired his last gun, but that didn't seem to be the case. He walked out of the building and towards his brother's car with a smile on his face that stretched a mile. Slamming the car door shut as he scooted inside, Canada started to head back to America's house, worried that his brother might miss him. Fat chance.

On his way home, Matthew drove past a long field. There were at least a hundred billion kids screaming and running around, but of course the Canadian had to spot the one who was crying and looking lost in the middle of all the chaos. Pulling over to the nearest sidewalk, Canada sighed and got out of the car, dodging random playful children and coming up to that one, crying little blonde boy.

"I should be able to just walk away," Canada sighed. "But, no. I'm the kind of guy who has to stop his car, pull over, and walk across a field to talk to a total stranger.. let alone _kid _I don't even know. Maple, I probably look like a creepy pedophile right now... Man, did I ever get a messed up side of the heroic gene pool..."

Leaning down to talk to the little boy, Canada used his best 'I'm-not-here-to-hurt-you' voice, which was hard, given as he was trying to sound like America at the same time.

"Hey, buddy, what's up?" he said, patting the boys shoulder.

"I got lost.." the boy sobbed. "This is all stupid Arthur's fault!"

"Arthur...? What's your name, kiddo?" Canada said, raising and eyebrow.

"Peter," the boy muttered, sniffling. With a groan, Matthew recognized the human name of his fellow 'country'. He knelt down a little bit until he was at the boy's level.

"Sealand," he began, "Aren't you like... twelve? You do realize that half these kids are younger than you, and you're the only one crying? I'll help you find England, okay? Just calm down..."

Sealand looked up towards Matthew with a little smile, and took the man's hand. "Thanks, Canada!"

"Canada? N-no, I'm America." the taller blonde stuttered.

"No, _you're_ Canada. I know that because America doesn't talk to me very much, and he would have come over here spouting out about how he's the hero and he'll save the day and stuff. Sorry, Canada, but you're going to have to work a bit harder on your act if you want to look like America. Look- there they are, over there. Come on!"

Peter pulled at Matthew's hand, practically dragging him up the hill towards where England and France were sitting. Britain held his head in his hand, staring out at the park with bored eyes as France spewed nonsense about love and relationships behind him.

"Listen, Peter, you've got to promise me something," Canada proclaimed, taking Sealand by the shoulders and spinning him around. "Promise me you won't tell anybody that I'm trying to be America, okay? It's... um... a secret... so can you just not tell them?"

Sealand nodded frantically, grinning from ear to ear. "I love secrets! And, I'm quite good at keeping them, if I do say so myself!" With that, he continued pulling Canada up the hill.

"Hey, France. Hey, Britain," Canada called, acknowledging the two. France gave a wave, as did England before he saw Sealand, at which point he rolled his eyes.

"You'd better keep a better eye on your kids, dude," he said, pushing Peter back towards Arthur. France nodded.

"Oui, he is right, Britain." France nodded. "Take care of that little boy, or you might end up responsible for another idiotic, arrogant, burger-breathing country on our map."

"Hey!" England and Canada yelled at the same time, both in defense of their brother.

"Anyways," Matthew mumbled, sitting himself down beside the three other countries, "What exactly are you doing here?"

"Well, I was here because I figured this would be the best place for me to get some paperwork done and for Peter to run around like an idiot, with the nature and all, but I forgot the most obvious detail... Public parks involve children. With children screaming and running around, I have done absolutely _nothing." _Arthur grumped, crossing his arms. _  
_

"And I was taking a stroll when I found Britain sitting here with a red face trying to do his paperwork. So, I decided it was my duty to make that impossible." France concluded.

"And I was playing and got lost!" Sealand nodded, before running off to play again.

"So... England. How've you been?" Canada said, nervous about how he had reacted to the rejection he had been handed a few days prior.

"Since I last saw you?" Britain nodded, an upset gleam in his eye. "Not so good."

Matthew opened his mouth to apologize for his reaction to England's confession when suddenly France burst into the converstion.

"Well, I have been fantastic, as you can imagine! The weather is beautiful, the children are screeching annoyingly in utter delight, and the grass is green and gorgeous... just like Britain's eyes," he winked.

"You perverted, flirtatious... you bloody wanker!" Arthur yelled, tackling France from his position. It took awhile for the Brit to calm down.

"I was only trying to be nice," Francis laughed after standing up and brushing himself off.

"Well, since thats over, how about we eat lunch?" Britain offered, pulling over a box of food from beside him.

"I-I'll pass," Canada shivered, well aware of England's potential in cooking. "Quite honestly, I don't want to eat anything you've cooked... You could find a way to burn food in the ocean."

"Don't worry, America," France said happily, "I took the pleasure of making this meal... I call it... 'The Sandwich'."

Britain looked a bit hurt. Francis eyed the two of them, giving them a puzzled look. "I think... I'll go call in Peter, ça va?"

Francis hurried away, leaving Britain and Canada alone.

"You really are more mature, lately."

"Yeah..."

"I really _do _fancy you, you know."

"Okay. Right. Um, I've got to go, so... say bye to France for me, and... yeah. Bye."

Canada hurried away as fast as he could. These were the situations America would have to deal with when he got better. Now was not the time. As he thought about his brother getting better, he wondered how he would explain everything. His brother was probably going to kill him for 'screwing up his life' or something. America had a hell of a lot to deal with, and Mattie wasn't so sure he could handle it for much longer. With a sigh, he wondered if there would even be much longer. America was getting better, which meant soon Canada would just go back to being invisible. Actually, the Canadian wasn't so sure he would mind, at least when it came to Britain...

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**A/N: Okay, so I'M SORRY. This chapter was totally random; I BLAME IT ON THE SUMMER'S HEAT. Sealand was OOC, right? I'M SO ASHAMED. This chapter is more of a filler; I'm still trying to think up ideas for the next couple of chapters (it's going to end pretty soon, I bet). Anyways, I hope you liked it, and please favorite, alert, and REVIEW~!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: *Wheeze* *Pant* *Wheeze* (holds up 'I'm the Hero! Chapter 7 victoriously) AND THE CHAPTER IS DONE! Oh, Jeeeez, this took me forever, I am so sorry... SO SORRY! FORGIVE ME! I just was on vacation forever, and then got back in school and I just couldn't find a good time to write this... so VWALA! TADA! Finally, what you've all been waiting for (I hope)! **

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"No, bro, I'm telling you, I'm totally 100% fine."

"Nope, nope, nope, you're still a degree too warm, America. You're still not healthy."

And so on raged the battle. America was convinced he was healthy, and, even though Canada knew it was true, he wasn't willing to accept that he was going to be invisible again soon. There was another World Meeting today, but with America healthy, he wouldn't be able to pull of his... amazing ruse any more.

He wasn't ready to disappear yet.

"America, you're still sick. Because of that, you need to stay here."

"Bro, I don't think one degree over having a normal temperature qualifies me as 'sick'. I dunno if the rules are different in Canada, but here in America it's totally fine. I mean, worst case scenario, I get other people sick, and if I get other people sick, they don't have to go to work or anything! It's like a win-win situation, bro!"

"That's... that's stupid." Canada sighed, shoving the thermometer back in its box. "Fine. You can consider yourself healthy. But you still can't leave the house."

"Why not?"

"Well, you see, there's this rule they have in schools where you have to be healthy for at least 24 hours before coming back... or something. So, you have to stay put."

"So, it's like child quarantine?" Tony shrugged from the end of the bed, where he had been for the entire conversation.

"Basically,"

"Seem like a good rule to have," the alien agreed with a nod of his head. "Not bad."

"Tony, who's side are you on, man?!" America groaned. "I don't wanna stay home, I wanna go to the world meeting!"

"I'm sure you'll be fine for the next one," Canada shrugged. "But for now, you have to stay home. And don't talk to anybody, or email anybody, or... make any social contact. At all."

"Am I sick or am I a murderer? Jeez, Canada, calm down, what's _human contact _gonna do?"

"Maybe your germs'll travel through the phone or computer or whatever and become super-germs because of the electricity and kill the person on the other end," Tony decided, going with the first idea that popped into his head.

Matthew groaned and face-palmed, not because of the terrible idea, but more so that America believed it.

"Woah, good point. I never thought of that," Alfred mused.

The Canadian shook his head and checked his watch. The World Meeting was in half an hour. Time to go. he waved goodbye to his brother and pulled on the American's clothes, heading out the door.

He was going to miss being known. Albeit there were all sorts of things he didn't like, such as being chased by Cuba and hit on by Britain, but overall that didn't make being a country everyone recognized any less cool. America would get well soon, and he would pretty much disappear off the face of the Earth. He kind of found it insulting that nobody had said anything along the lines of, "Hey, where's Canada?" the entire time he'd been pretending to be his brother. Nobody had even thought about him, had they? And he was gonna have to sink back into that trend when America got better- which would without a doubt be very soon.

Very, very soon.

Canada came up to the World meeting building looking pretty down. And very, very quiet. At least, quiet for the country that everyone thought he was.

"Great, now I'm depressed." he said aloud. "Fantastic way to start the day. Fantastic."

He entered the meeting hall with a forced smile on his face, ready to get back to work. He quieted everyone down, and began his speech.

"Okay, guys, global warming is becoming a more prominent- I mean, a more... big... issue in our countries today, so I think we all need to think of a way to fix it!" he smiled. "Any ideas? I think we should go one at a time, starting with you, Germany, and then work our way around the room clockwise. We can discuss the ideas later. If you have the same idea as someone else, just say so. And... no bashing on ideas until discussion time. Okay?"

The rest of the room nodded. Matthew smiled proudly. He was going to miss this whole 'bieng important' thing, but at least he got to help out for a while, right?

The group began to throw out their ideas. Sealand spent pretty much the entire meeting giggling and looking at Canada, making it obvious he knew something no one else knew. The Canadian shrugged it off, not really worried about the kid.

"Has everyone shared their ideas?" Matthew smiled when the room became quiet again. Japan handed him a paper where he'd written all the ideas down. A few of the ideas were already crossed out by the German, such as Turkey's fabulous idea to kill Greece. Something must have told him that wasn't going to help anything.

"Okay, then. Let's discuss our ideas. Japan, you think you have a way to make the air cleaner when it leaves smoke stacks in incinerators, right?"

"Right."

"And who agrees this could be a good plan, and we should keep it on the list for further discussion?"

And so the meeting went. It was incredibly efficient, to say the least. Work was getting done and nobody was arguing about anything other than the topic. Canada was proud of himself- he wasn't too bad at this.

"So, I think that wraps up the meeting for today," he smiled. "Does anyone have anything else to add, or are we done here?"

Suddenly, the double doors at the front of the room burst open. Tony stumbled through them, shrugging and saying, "I tried," under his breath towards Canada.

And then, Alfred burst through the doors, a grin on his face.

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**A/N: Sorry this is so short, guys. I haven't got much time on my hands now that I'm back in school, so I hope this is okay. I'll try to make the next chapter longer, but I think that might be the last one. *sniffle* I hope you guys liked it though. I'M BACK, BABY! *Virtual hugs* **


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